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Steve Alexander

Offseason Beat

12-team NBA Draft Breakdown

Here are the partial results of a 12-team, head-to-head points league draft that is happening as I write this. I have been in this league for 10 years and write about it every season. Matthew Berry, John Hollinger and Eric Karabell are some of the alumni and there are several experts still in the league. The scoring system is both complex and awesome.

Three Pointers Made .08 points

Assists .17 points

Blocks .25 points

Field Goals Made .25 points

Field Goals Attempted -.08 points

Free Throws Made .25 points

Free Throws Attempted -.17 points

Points .08 points

Steals .17 points

Turnovers -.17 points

Total Rebounds .10 points

When the week is finished the score looks pretty similar to that of an actual NBA game. This draft moves at a snail’s pace, usually completing just a round or two per day, which is why I’m not sharing the whole draft. It’s also important to note that you start four guards, four forwards, two centers and two flex, and given the scoring format, you can actually field a great team without owning a single point guard. When adding the depth of the league to the fact you have to start two centers, getting your big men early is the way to go. And since free throw percentage and turnovers don’t hurt you like they do in a league that counts a category as a win, Dwight Howard and the other bad free throw shooters go earlier than they will in other leagues. Let’s get to it.

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I’m not a huge fan of drafting Dwight Howard in most leagues, but I like him in this format. Blocks pay .25 a pop and if he returns to form in Houston, he should be a beast. Stephen Curry in front of James Harden is interesting, but I think Harden should go No. 3 in all drafts. Derrick Rose at seven is a bit of a gamble, but it could pay off for Carpenter.

Anthony Davis’ stock blew up with his dominant preseason performance and he’s going to go late first or early second round in most drafts. Prepare to pay. I’m still not sure how George fell to me at 16, but I was thrilled to see it happen, and almost took him at nine. Klyce’s reach for Westbrook is interesting, and while he’ll potentially dominate for him in the playoffs, it’s going to be a long couple months of waiting around. I really think this is the year Cousins puts it all together and I see some triple-doubles in his future.

I was watching Dwyane Wade and Nicolas Batum slipping to me and was all set to pull the trigger on either of them. And, of course, Carpenter and Hector ruined those plans, which led to some patented Dr. A whining in the chat room. I almost took another center here, but decided to wait and went with Paul Millsap, who I’m hoping is dominant in Atlanta now that he has no competition for his job. Serge Ibaka will go much higher than this in category scoring leagues, but in points leagues, his lack of scoring makes it tough to take him too high. Plenty of risky business here, like Kobe’s Achilles, Wade’s body and Jennings’ mouth.

I was really torn between Lopez and Larry Sanders, but went with Lopez simply because he’ll score more. I was pretty bummed when Dirk was taken just before my pick, but I will live. Carlos Boozer was a pretty surprising pick this early and I remember being shocked that Kawhi Leonard still hadn’t been drafted.

Here are the partial results of a 12-team, head-to-head points league draft that is happening as I write this. I have been in this league for 10 years and write about it every season. Matthew Berry, John Hollinger and Eric Karabell are some of the alumni and there are several experts still in the league. The scoring system is both complex and awesome.

Three Pointers Made .08 points

Assists .17 points

Blocks .25 points

Field Goals Made .25 points

Field Goals Attempted -.08 points

Free Throws Made .25 points

Free Throws Attempted -.17 points

Points .08 points

Steals .17 points

Turnovers -.17 points

Total Rebounds .10 points

When the week is finished the score looks pretty similar to that of an actual NBA game. This draft moves at a snail’s pace, usually completing just a round or two per day, which is why I’m not sharing the whole draft. It’s also important to note that you start four guards, four forwards, two centers and two flex, and given the scoring format, you can actually field a great team without owning a single point guard. When adding the depth of the league to the fact you have to start two centers, getting your big men early is the way to go. And since free throw percentage and turnovers don’t hurt you like they do in a league that counts a category as a win, Dwight Howard and the other bad free throw shooters go earlier than they will in other leagues. Let’s get to it.

If you’re not following me on Twitter yet, it’s time! Just click here.

I’m not a huge fan of drafting Dwight Howard in most leagues, but I like him in this format. Blocks pay .25 a pop and if he returns to form in Houston, he should be a beast. Stephen Curry in front of James Harden is interesting, but I think Harden should go No. 3 in all drafts. Derrick Rose at seven is a bit of a gamble, but it could pay off for Carpenter.

Anthony Davis’ stock blew up with his dominant preseason performance and he’s going to go late first or early second round in most drafts. Prepare to pay. I’m still not sure how George fell to me at 16, but I was thrilled to see it happen, and almost took him at nine. Klyce’s reach for Westbrook is interesting, and while he’ll potentially dominate for him in the playoffs, it’s going to be a long couple months of waiting around. I really think this is the year Cousins puts it all together and I see some triple-doubles in his future.

I was watching Dwyane Wade and Nicolas Batum slipping to me and was all set to pull the trigger on either of them. And, of course, Carpenter and Hector ruined those plans, which led to some patented Dr. A whining in the chat room. I almost took another center here, but decided to wait and went with Paul Millsap, who I’m hoping is dominant in Atlanta now that he has no competition for his job. Serge Ibaka will go much higher than this in category scoring leagues, but in points leagues, his lack of scoring makes it tough to take him too high. Plenty of risky business here, like Kobe’s Achilles, Wade’s body and Jennings’ mouth.

I was really torn between Lopez and Larry Sanders, but went with Lopez simply because he’ll score more. I was pretty bummed when Dirk was taken just before my pick, but I will live. Carlos Boozer was a pretty surprising pick this early and I remember being shocked that Kawhi Leonard still hadn’t been drafted.

I had O.J. Mayo, Eric Bledsoe, Andre Drummond, Kawhi Leonard and Derrick Favors all queued up and really didn’t know what to do. I would have been happy with any of them and I thought Favors would qualify at center in CBS leagues, but he doesn’t. In any case, as hard as it was to pass on Leonard this late, I went with Favors, who I considered taking a round earlier. This was a pretty strong round, although Joakim Noah’s groin injury is now a huge concern, and I don’t know that Evan Turner belongs with the rest of these guys, but someone has to get it done for the Sixers, right?

Speaking of CBS, their default settings allow players to only qualify at one position, which can be extremely limiting. Be sure to change the setting to multiple positions before your draft.

I was hoping I wouldn’t have to decide between Jeff Green and Bradley Beal, and Dobish solved that problem for me by taking Green. Despite Green’s lackluster preseason, I still think he’s going to be a monster in Boston. I was really scared one of the guys in front of me was going to get Beal, but he fell into my lap. And that was crucial since I only had Paul George at guard through five rounds. I like the JaVale McGee pick here and Spencer Hawes should be a quality two-center player.

We’re going 17 rounds deep in this thing, so we’re basically about halfway through. And given the two-hour time clock, we have a long way to go. I got Wilson Chandler here, which I was happy with, but I think Jimmy Butler (and his guard status) would have been a better pick. Then again, WilChan should go off with Danilo Gallinari injured. Rajon Rondo could boom or bust for the playoffs, while Marcin Gortat looks like a real steal this late.

That’s all I’ve got for now, so I’m going to go back to the three slow drafts I’m watching right now. Our 30-team league draft will start rolling on Monday and I’m looking forward to the eventual 10-minute clock we use in that one. Have a great weekend!

Steve "Dr. A" Alexander is the senior editor for the NBA for Rotoworld.com and a contributor to NBCSports.com. The 2014-15 NBA season marks his 13th year of covering fantasy hoops for Rotoworld. Follow him on Twitter - @Docktora.Email :Steve Alexander